Off-kilter
by Kiterie
Summary: Iruka's always known there's something off about Kakashi, but when Kakashi starts acting even more off than usual, he knows something is going on. Trouble is, it might kill him to find out the truth... quite literally.
1. Chapter 1

This was inspired by a fic written for the KakaIruFest Telephone event and any similarities between this and that one ARE INTENTIONAL and I don't claim to have thought of them. I highly recommend reading them in order since then you get to see all the little steps and jumps between the first story written for this and the last. If you go to my ao3 account (Kiterie) this story is posted there as a part of the collection so it's linked to all of the stories. My recommendation is to read them all from the first to the last so that you can see the awesome progression and changes the stories take.

(Also anyone who has an e-reader or wants to download my stories to their e-reader they are all on AO3 and can be downloaded from there. Including several original vignettes and the first chapter to my novel 'Coffee Cake')

Also anything you don't like, my alter-ego says she'll take the blame for that. I however take complete credit for anything you like. ~.^

**Chapter 1**

Iruka walked up to the tree, looked up at Kakashi, and, hands on his hips, pointedly cleared his throat.

Kakashi sat there, book in hand, and didn't even bother to look at him. His eye not covered by his hitai-ate was clearly trained on words in front of him. After a long moment he did, however, slowly turn the page.

Frowning, Iruka took a deep breath and tried again. "Maybe it doesn't bother you if you're late, but I don't intend to keep Kotetsu and Izumo waiting."

"Mah, Iruka, you need to relax more. Those two probably appreciate the wait since they'll just spend it groping each other." He turned another page, clearly content to continue sitting there.

"Kakashi-san..." It came out an elongated growl. Iruka closed his eyes, turned his head slightly, and added a huffed sigh. It was all he could do not to lose his temper. This was the fourth time this week he'd been made late because of Kakashi. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed the scar that ran across it and his cheeks, trying to ease some of the tension so he wouldn't snap over something so stupid. "If you don't get down here this instant then you can eat by yourself."

"Boss, I think he's serious."

Iruka looked back up, surprised at Pakkun's sudden appearance.

Sure enough though, the tan and brown pug sat atop Kakashi head, looking just as content to be as lazy as the shinobi.

It had been a while since he'd seen the ninken. Not since the incident with Mizuki over three months ago. "Hello, Pakkun-san." Iruka clasped his hands in front of himself and bowed. "Thank you again for your assistance."

The pug scratched his ear and nodded. "You're welcome, Umino-san." Turning back to Kakashi, the little dog held his paw out and, with a puff of smoke of smoke, dropped a small scroll onto Kakashi's lap, then poofed away himself.

Kakashi tucked both the scroll and his book into his back pouch, then jumped down. "You shouldn't make empty threats. You were the one who said I shouldn't eat alone so much, Iruka-kun."

Iruka's cheeks burned at Kakashi's teasing. He reached up and tightened his ponytail in the hopes he could settle the feeling. When Anko attached kun to his name, he didn't think anything of it, but it made him feel like they were genin again when Kakashi said it. He'd tried correcting him, but Kakashi only took it as incentive to use the silly informal name more. He supposed he didn't mind as long as Kakashi didn't use it in front of their friends. "Then you shouldn't make me regret taking pity on you."

Kakashi chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, fluffing the silvery-white spikes where Pakkun had crushed them down. "I was enjoying my book."

Shaking his head, Iruka rolled his eyes and laughed. "That you've read at least a dozen times, unless you're a lot slower-minded than people say," he teased before turning and walking off in the direction of the restaurant they were supposed to meet Izumo and Kotetsu at.

"Ah, but Iruka-sensei, it's one of his best. The heroine gets to save the hero for a change and..." Kakashi started, falling into step beside him.

Iruka waved his hand dismissively. "It's not a very good excuse, but at least it's true. Yesterday's was ridiculous."

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets. "But there really was a herd of wild boar chasing me. Just ask the koyamaki that joined in when I tried to escape through the training grounds."

The man was hard to read with most of his face covered by that mask, but Iruka knew better than to buy into the things he said. Everybody did, but Iruka had to admit that they were at least a little entertaining. He wondered how Kakashi was able to come up with such elaborate excuses on such a regular basis. As far as he knew Kakashi rarely repeated the same excuse, at least not without adding a few strange or interesting details. "I'm sure."

Iruka frowned and stirred his curry. He was fairly certain Kakashi hadn't heard anything he'd said in the last twenty minutes at least. Mission room antics weren't nearly as entertaining as A rank missions, but Kakashi could at least pretend to be paying attention. "Am I really that boring?"

"...What?" Kakashi blinked and for the first time since they'd sat down to lunch actually looked at Iruka.

Technically his visible eye had been staring, unblinking at Iruka, but it actually dilated slightly when he spoke which Iruka knew meant Kakashi actually 'saw' him. "Is something wrong? You were zoned out there."

"Mah, sorry, I was just thinking," Kakashi apologized. "You are the least boring person I know, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka laughed, mollified. Either Kakashi was full of it, or if he actually believed that and he was blind. Iruka knew damn well he was probably the tamest, most normal shinobi that Kakashi spent any length of time with, and he was fairly certain that had originally had more to do with his connection to Naruto than anything else. "Given who your best friend is I can say with certainty that I am boring by comparison."

"See, but that is where you're wrong." Kakashi paused, his eyes darting away from Iruka for a moment then back. "That's what makes you so interesting."

"I'll take your word on it this time, but if you ignore me again don't think I'll buy that." That glance, Iruka wondered what it was about. Kakashi had obviously seen somebody that caught his attention, but Iruka wasn't about to turn around and find out who it was. He settled for glancing at a picture above Kakashi's head and listened. Wood scraped against the floor and a shinobi with short black hair stood up and walked out. His back was towards them so Iruka had no idea who it was.

"Pakkun-san, what are you doing here?" Iruka marked the paper in front of him, set it aside, and started on the next.

Pakkun didn't move from his perch on the window sill, where he'd been sitting for the last hour. Before that, he'd been in the tree outside. "Boss' orders."

Iruka frowned a little, disappointed in Konohamaru's response to one of the questions on the homework from the day before. "I figured as much. Did you need something?"

"No."

The response irked him a little. That combined with the fact that he'd seen another dog following him to work that morning and a third sitting on the rooftop of the academy at lunch. As much as he liked the pug, he didn't like what it implied. If there had been any reason other than Kakashi was watching him, Iruka was fairly certain Pakkun would have said as much. The fact that they hadn't been entirely subtle about it likely meant that Kakashi wanted people to know Iruka was under his protection. "Then why are you sitting here staring at me. I'm sure you have better things to do than watch me grade papers."

"Would you like to pet my paws?" He held one out pads up in offering. "They're very soft."

"Don't try to distract me." Iruka let out a highly irritated sigh, set his pen down, and gathered the papers up. He shoved them in his bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Take me to Kakashi, I'm going to have a word with him about setting guard dogs on me."

"I told Boss you wouldn't approve." Pakkun stood up and leapt out the window.

It took them roughly ten minutes to reach Kakashi who was perched in a tree reading. Iruka didn't say anything he simply focused as much chakra as he could manage into his fist and slammed it into the tree.

The entire thing shook, and Kakashi crashed to the ground at Iruka's feet.

Iruka grabbed his collar and dragged him over the nearest alley. "I know this whole boyfriend thing is new to you, but really? You're getting your summons to babysit me?" He didn't bother to hide his annoyance at being followed, but he kept his voice to a low growl.

Kakashi rubbed his ass with one hand and scratched the back of his head with the other. "It should be flattering that-"

"I can take care of myself!" Iruka snapped. The assumption that he couldn't especially inside the village was more than a little insulting. "I am just as capable a shinobi as anyone else, and I don't need protecting. I can even watch your back when need be."

Kakashi set a hand on Iruka's shoulder and looked at him directly, the lightness gone from his voice. "I wasn't insinuating that you can't."

The seriousness surprised him and it took a moment before he recovered enough to respond. "We're in the village, Kakashi. Whatever it is I'm perfectly safe." Something definitely had Kakashi on edge.

"You're right, of course, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi's visible eye closed and his cheeks stretched his mask in what was clearly a smile. "I will tell the pack not to follow you, but please be careful while I'm gone."

Iruka frowned. Maybe it was just nerves over whatever Kakashi's mission was, but Iruka would do what he could to ease Kakashi's mind. "I will be extra careful. Come home safe."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Iruka looked the reports over, checking for Kakashi's signature among them. He'd been scheduled to return three days ago and the sun was already starting to set so Iruka couldn't hang around the mission room much longer. He excused himself to Iwashi, who was manning the desk, and headed out. The promise he'd made a week ago had almost seemed silly the next morning, now Iruka wasn't so sure. Kakashi was late a lot though so it wasn't entirely unexpected and he felt foolish worrying the way he was. Still...

He kept to the main roads, not even short-cutting it across the rooftops the way he would normally, and headed for his apartment. There were leftovers in the fridge from his lunch so he didn't even need to take a detour for that.

Iruka stopped and scanned the shadows that he normally relied on with suspicion. It was ridiculous, he knew it was ridiculous, and when Kakashi got back he fully intended to tell him exactly how stupid the whole thing was. Whatever it was. He really wished now that he'd gotten something more concrete from Kakashi. More importantly he wished Kakashi hadn't chosen to late after acting so strangely.

"Get back soon, you idiot," Iruka muttered to the darkness.

A shadow flashed across the rooftops and then dropped down in front of him. "Hello, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka barely managed not to jump in surprise. Normally, it wouldn't have garnered a response in him at all except that it was almost as though his words had summoned Kakashi to him. He looked Kakashi over and surprisingly there didn't seem to be anything amiss. There wasn't a scratch on him from what Iruka could see. It was irritating after everything. "You're late."

"Mah, I didn't have a choice. I got stuck in a downpour that wouldn't let up." Kakashi ducked his head a little and fell into step beside Iruka. "I'm starving, let's grab dinner."

"Alright." Iruka sighed, getting stuck in the rain was never pleasant. He'd scold Kakashi later about the ridiculous paranoia he'd caused.

~*~*~

He was over halfway done with his lesson plan when Kakashi finally poked his head through the door. The only surprise there was that he was only halfway done. "You're late."

"Mah, I'm sorry Iruka-sensei." Kakashi scratched the back of his head and slouched in the doorway. "I lost track of the time training."

Iruka furrowed his brow, confused. "What did you hit your head while you were away or did you just finally run out of clever excuses?"

"It's a challenge with Gai," Kakashi laughed. "We're seeing who can go the longest. Me without using an excuse or him without saying youth."

"Well that won't last long." Iruka shut his planner and tucked it away in his desk drawer. He could come finish it up over the weekend. Standing he gave the classroom one final glance then stepped past Kakashi and into the hall. "Do you want to get dinner before we hit The Shuriken?" Most of the chunin and jounin frequented the place, but it was more because the sake was good for the price not because the food was. If you ordered anything more complicated than rice you were taking some risks.

Kakashi nodded and closed the door behind them. "Ichiraku is on the way."

Iruka chuckled. "I love that place, but Naruto dragged me there every day you were gone. How about some place else?"

Debating the merits of various places they stepped out of the Academy and headed in the general direction of the bar. They finally settled on a place that was a few buildings down from the bar. It was also right next to one of Konoha's bookstores.

Iruka only realized the last fact when they passed it and then he only noticed it because they had a massive display for the Icha Icha drama that was making it's way through Fire Country and Kakashi didn't bat an eye. He opened his mouth to ask Kakashi if he was sick and then stopped. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut and Iruka had to grit his teeth for a second to keep his smile from dropping. Either Kakashi was playing a prank on him, in which case he was a dead man, or he wasn't and... Iruka didn't want to think about the what that might mean.

They ducked under the shelter of the stall and perched themselves on two empty bar stools at the end of the counter.

The man behind the counter greeted them and set a pot of tea down in front of them.

Iruka looked at Kakashi and smiled. "The vegetable tempura looks good, want to split an order?"

"Sure, it's one of my favorites."

"I know, that's why I suggested it." Kakashi hated fried foods. He'd complained _very_ loudly when Sakura had made them both try the tempura she'd fixed for their picnic a month ago. It was all Iruka could do to keep himself from attacking the guy right then and there. _'You better not have laid a hand on Kakashi. I won't forgive it if you have.'_

Getting in late and without a scratch wasn't like Kakashi. He'd push to get in early, especially after the strange warning he'd given. Then there was the straightforwards explanation for his tardiness and the fact he hadn't even looked in the direction of the bookstore and now the tempura. Iruka racked his brain for any explanations for the behavior other than what he was quickly becoming convinced was the reality. Any of the incidents he could easily have explained and he might have even excused the lack of interest in Icha Icha somehow, but all of them together meant that it was more than a coincidence.

Iruka waited only long enough for the food to cool before practically swallowing it whole. He felt like he had a target on his back and wanted to get some place with other shinobi as soon as possible. The best way to do that was to get to the bar. "We should hurry or they'll all be drunk before we get there."

Kakashi laughed and polished off the last few pieces then paid.

His nerves were practically on end when they stepped out onto the street. Iruka immediately began calculating escape routes and where he stood the best chance in a fight against Kakashi. Even if it wasn't actually Kakashi he was fairly sure maintaining the henge required a high level of both chakra and skill and he still had no idea of the guy's abilities. If he took out Kakashi... _'There's a good chance he can take you out too.'_

They walked the rest of the way to the bar and Iruka managed somehow to keep smiling and even bumped Kakashi 'accidentally' a few times so that it would seem like he was flirting.

Kakashi lifted the fabric and held it up for Iruka. "If Anko starts dancing on tables again you owe me a drink."

"If she starts stripping you're going to have to buy me more than a few to keep me from strangling Genma. He's the one who always starts it."

"I think he's hoping you'll join them sometime," Kakashi teased.

Iruka rolled his eyes and stepped past, deliberately brushing his fingers against Kakashi's and sending out the slightest amount of chakra. He was nearly past when Kakashi's hand caught his and pulled him back. His stomach dropped out from under him for a moment and not in the pleasant way that it did whenever Kakashi kissed him.

Kakashi caught his gaze and held it, then leaned down to whisper in his ear. "If you do or say _anything_ to them-" He paused, his breath hot against Iruka's cheek.

A shiver climbed it's way up Iruka's spine and he had to force himself to remain still, to not back away.

"-to get them try and drag me into their little strip tease game and I'll make sure to tell Gai how much you'd really appreciate some extra training." Kakashi released Iruka's hand and straightened, but his gaze didn't drop.

Iruka bit his lip and swallowed then headed off towards the table where Genma was already doing shots with Anko. "Sorry we're late."

"You owe us a round." Anko stated it very matter of factly then pulled him down onto the bench next to her. "And no arguing, that's what you get for dating him."

A round of drinks seemed a small price to pay for the safety being with nearly a dozen other shinobi and that was just counting his friends, not the rest of the bar. "Fine, but that means you save the strip show. The last person I want to see naked is you."

"Iruka-_kun_ drink with me!" She pushed a shot glass at him.

"I don't know why I come," Kakashi cut in, sitting down across from Iruka. "You just steal him the moment we get here."

Anko stuck her tongue out at him then downed the shot in front of her. "You're lucky I share him at all."

It was the same exchange they always had and Iruka wondered how Kakashi, who couldn't be Kakashi, knew that. When he'd brushed their hands earlier it had even felt like Kakashi's chakra signature. It wasn't a simple henge which meant he needed to play along until he could figure out what was going on. At least it meant that this imposter probably knew that he always took Anko home and that Raidou followed with Genma since they lived in the same building. It meant he was safe, at least for now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I think there's something wrong with Kakashi-sensei." Sakura stated flatly before handing team seven's mission report over.

Iruka felt his mouth go dry. He took a deep breath. "Why do you think that Sakura-chan."

She glanced around as though she was worried about being overheard. "He was on time."

The comment made him laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. "And what? That's a bad thing?"

"No, but it's not like Kakashi-sensei." The statement started out with concern and ended with obvious irritation. "Naruto thinks space aliens have done something to him and Sasuke thinks it's one of his tests."

Those were far less dangerous theories than the one he had. "And, what do _you_ think, Sakura-chan?"

"I..." Sakura looked away, her brow furrowed and she pressed her lips together into a tight thin line before finally look back at Iruka, resolve clear in her eyes. "I don't think it's Kakashi-sensei."

"It's his chakra signature, Sakura-chan," he assured, hoping it would ease some of her worry. "I know. I checked."

Her eyebrows rose for a moment and then she smiled. "You checked?"

"I agree he's acting a little off. I even thought it might be somebody trying to play a prank on me, but unless there's somebody walking around with an identical chakra signature as Kakashi-sensei then it _is_ him." Iruka didn't want her getting involved. It was far too dangerous and knowing her and her teammates they _would_ get involved. "There is nothing for you to worry about, Sakura-chan. If it wasn't him, I would know."

"Then-"

"Sasuke's a smart kid, maybe he's right." Iruka was proud of her, he really was, but he wanted to keep them all safe. They were his kids; he had to protect them, and right now, that meant he had to lie. "It seems more likely than Naruto's suggestion, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Do you trust me?" Iruka cut in.

"Yes."

"Then, trust me when I say you have nothing to worry about." He smiled and did his best to project the unwavering calm of a teacher. _'You are not wrong, but you also don't have anything to worry about because I will fix this. I will protect all of you, including Kakashi.'_

Slowly, Sakura returned the smile. "Alright, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka watched her leave and wondered how he was going to prove to the hokage what his gut was telling him. He needed proof or at least something more substantial. It occurred to him then that if there was anything to be found, anything he could use as evidence, then there'd be a record of it. He knew better than anyone how the file room worked, and he would find out what was going on, and then he'd go to Sandaime. The idea made him feel very much like he was Sakura. He only hoped Sandaime didn't do what he'd just done and tell him not to worry about it, that everything was fine.

~*~*~

After telling Genma he was going to clean the records room, he'd managed to escape into its depths. Tucked in the farthest corner from the door, he now had more files out than he usually saw in a week.

Pulling all the records the hokage, Ibiki, and Inoichi had touched had taken hours. Figuring out which ones he definitely didn't need had taken even more time. Putting them back was going to take more time than he wanted to think about.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for, and several stacks of them were sealed as classified. Aside from the seals indicating who'd sealed them and, therefore, who you had to speak with in order to lift the seal, the only thing some of them were marked with was a code name and date assigned so he started by sorting the hundreds of files by that. Name and date. "Sandaime-sama is going to kill me when he finds out I did this. There is probably a lot here that I could learn just by studying the names and dates on these. I probably don't even have the clearance to touch them."

Iruka winced at the realization that he was very likely going to end up on the other side of _Ibiki's_ desk. As much as he liked Ibiki, that was not a wise place to land yourself. Ever. Ibiki was only terrifying when you gave him a reason to be, and Iruka was very likely doing exactly that. "Don't think about it, don't look at those stacks unless you have to."

More than likely they weren't what he was looking for anyways. Those files were under scrutiny constantly, so if it was one of those he'd probably already have an ANBU breathing down his neck. This... this had to be different. It had to be something that could get missed. Something that seemed ordinary or routine but wasn't. That meant a mission assigned to somebody more like him than like Kakashi. The only thing that bothered him about that was that somebody like him couldn't pretend to be somebody like Kakashi.

"Satou, Suzuki, Nakamura, Kimura..." Iruka tossed the files into stacks until he had so many files he really didn't have space left. He combined several of the really short ones and set them aside as highly unlikely.

"My eyes are starting to cross." And he was only on step one; he still had to go through the most likely candidates and figure out which one was relevant. Iruka pulled his ponytail out, rubbed his fingers over his scalp, and then swept it back up into a new tail, the loose strands recaptured. "I'm never going to figure this out at this rate."

He sorted through the ones that he knew were currently out on missions and the ones in the hospital. Surprisingly once he cleared those out, it left him with only four names, one of which only had two files. Airi Hara, Kazue Kobi, and Masaru Kimura were left. "Which of you is up to something?" He asked, staring at the stacks.

Kobi had the thickest one, but he wasn't through all of the files and after a quick glance Iruka realized none of them were dated more recently than three months ago. He pushed that one aside and picked up Kimura's instead.

Flipping the top one open, he skimmed the personal information like age, weight, where he was living, and next of kin. There was only one name listed there, and it had been stamped with deceased. "Hm."

Iruka flipped through several more pages, all hospital reports. Notes about his mental stability, improvement, and something about not wanting to talk about a mission. He grabbed the next folder, an older one, and flipped through it. It was a mission, D-rank, and about as bland as it could get. Something you would assign a genin or somebody you wanted to punish. Ibiki had signed off on it, which meant it could easily be that, but given the medical paperwork Iruka was betting it was more than likely not the case.

Easy missions were often given to shinobi when they were recovering. Kakashi loathed them and often tried to escape getting assigned them by not getting checked into the hospital. Getting checked in meant you had to get checked out which meant that until a doctor said you were fine, you weren't fine. Kakashi never liked to admit he wasn't fit for duty. Iruka knew when he was hurting because he took solo C-rank missions that would bring in a decent amount with very little risk.

It didn't sound entirely hare-brained until you factored in the fact that they were most often away from the village. If you got attacked while you were already injured, you couldn't properly defend yourself, and Kakashi had enemies who would look for any opportunity made available to them.

Iruka found himself wanting to punch Kakashi just at the thought, which only served to make him angrier because he was worried. "You had better be okay, you idiot."

Shaking himself mentally, Iruka flipped through several more files. Most of them were D-rank files issued by Ibiki, a few were medical files, a few minor disciplinary reports, and then he found them... the earliest files, the ones that told him it had to be Kimura. The oldest were just around six months ago. If he hadn't gone back as far as he had, he would have missed them, and he probably would have missed Kimura as a suspect altogether. Kimura had lost his entire team in a mission, his twin brother among them. According to his report they'd been attacked on the border by Rock, and his team had sacrificed themselves so that Kimura could get back with the scrolls they'd recovered from their incursion. Kimura had made it back physically unhurt, but near catatonic. He'd given the details, but they were flat simple facts. He shut down and refused talk about it beyond the very basic details required to give his report. It explained why he'd been assigned to missions inside the village and desk work only and why Kakashi would have been watching him.

He pulled the first file he'd grabbed and looked at the address again. It was tellingly close to where he'd found Kakashi on more than one occasion, and the restaurants they'd frequented before Kakashi's last mission were all in that same area.

Iruka set the mission file aside and got up. Stepping around the stacks he walked over to the personnel files and pulled Kimura's out to read over. Kimura was a chunin a couple years older than him, and Iruka was fairly sure he could easily win in a fight against him since most of Kimura's attacks relied on his twin brother. They were also primarily ninjutsu and taijutsu attacks. He was weak in genjutsu, and while he had good stamina, his chakra levels didn't lend him much help. It didn't lend to the idea that Kimura even had the ability to maintain a henge for as long as he would have had to while pretending to be Kakashi and it definitely made him being able to fake a chakra signature out of the question.

"Is it you? If it is then _how_ are you doing it, Kimura?" Closing his eyes, Iruka frowned and rubbed his temples. The tips of his fingers stung from paper cuts and the dust was starting to get to him. "How do I check if it is you? I really hope I'm not back at square one with this."

Sighing, Iruka ran over what he knew and silently cursed Kakashi for not giving him more than some vague warning before taking off on the-hokage-only-knew-what kind of mission. "You couldn't have said to stay away from Kimura? It would have been a little more effective than having the dogs babysit me. _Damn you, Kakashi!_ Damn you and the hokage both." The wave of anger and worry was overwhelming, and Iruka slammed his fist into the wall before he could think to stop himself. It hurt, and Iruka stared at his scraped knuckles, annoyed at himself. Then it clicked, and he damn near kicked himself for not realizing it sooner.

Picking through the files again, Iruka pulled out the disciplinary reports. Three were general attitude problems, one for fighting in a bar, and several others for failure to report in for watch duty. The one that really caught his attention however, was dated a couple weeks before Kakashi left for his mission and it was for being in a part of the hospital above his authorization. Medical Records.

Grabbing the week's mission room roster from beside the door, Iruka looked it over. Then he checked the files of Kimura's most recent missions, nothing in over week and every single one of Kimura's shifts had been covered by somebody else since the day before Kakashi was due to return. It wouldn't be noticed, because they were covered by so many different people. Since he was still on light duty, not picking up missions would simply be passed off as depression, and anyone who thought about it would likely have assumed he was at home sulking.

It was Kimura, and it also wasn't. Kimura couldn't pull it off, so he was probably dead and likely had been since his team was wiped out. There was probably somebody assigned to watch him while Kakashi was gone, but if the guy had taken Kakashi down, it wasn't improbable that he'd done the same to them. Iruka would bet whoever had posed as Kimura and was now posing as Kakashi had either done the same to whoever was assigned to him in Kakashi's absence or he'd reported in as Kakashi and covered the hand off. There wasn't a person in the village who wouldn't take Kakashi at his word. If Kakashi said he'd handled the hand off and had the report to prove it then there would be no questions.

"Time is running out for you though isn't it?" Iruka smiled, pure malicious anger at whoever was in his village filling him. The only way Iruka could think of to pull it off would require abilities similar to Ibiki's or Inoichi's. "You killed Kimura, but I'm betting Kakashi and his second are still alive." It would also require a high level of knowledge about chakra channels and the ability to seal one's self into a henge. That meant somebody in Kakashi's class and probably somebody medical. "I don't know what you're planning, and it still doesn't explain why you'd be targeting me."

"Mah, Iruka-sensei _that one's_ easy..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Iruka spun around, immediately on guard.

Kakashi stood across the files from him, still slouching lazily with his hands tucked in his pockets despite the fact that they both knew that he wasn't actually Kakashi. "He has better clearance than pretty much anyone in this stinking shit pile you call a village. It makes it incredibly easy to get whatever information I like. Very _valuable_ information. As for my interest in you well... you're his." He pulled the hitai-ate and mask off. "I just had to wait for you to come in here and lead me to everything they have on me. Nice job sorting it for me."

Sliding his feet out further and dropping down a little Iruka considered their surroundings. The room wasn't particularly small, but the shelves and the filing cabinets made it feel cramped. It was practically a maze to anyone who didn't know what they were looking for, deliberately so, and his enemy was right; Iruka had done a nice job of gathering all the evidence up for him. His stomach twisted and Iruka only just managed to bite down on the string of curses that wanted to escape.

"Your boyfriend thinks you're pretty smart." The man wearing Kakashi's face laughed, tilting his head to the side and taking a step forward he looked from the files to Iruka. "He knew you'd figure it out, knew you'd know I wasn't him. Of course I was counting on that."

The words slid over him, but Iruka disregarded them and focused on his opponent. Iruka debated what he knew. He was out-matched in chakra and skill; his best chance was escape, but the enemy was blocking his way to the door. Still the place was a virtual maze and one he had memorized. Iruka kicked a stack of the files at the enemy nin and dove for the filing cabinets to his right. He got about halfway down the row, pulled a kunai and leapt to the top of the shelves.

There was a whoosh of air just moments after and Iruka felt fingers wrap themselves around his ankle. The grip tethered him and his forward momentum sent him sprawling onto his hands, his kunai skittering out of his fingers. Twisting he kicked his other foot out in the direction of the guy's shoulder and spun onto his back. His foot connected but with his opponent's hand instead of his shoulder. Iruka poured his chakra into his hands and locked himself onto the massive chunk of metal under him.

His attacker yanked, but with the combined weight was unable to throw both Iruka and the cabinet. Anger slid onto his usual cool facade, then he grinned and twisted one of Iruka's ankles hard and to the outside.

Iruka screamed, released his hold, and pushed himself back with as much force as he could manage.

It threw both of them to the ground with Iruka sprawled on his back and his enemy at his feet.

His ankle throbbed and there was a sharp pain at the back of his head now where it'd smacked against another set of drawers, but Iruka scrabbled in the opposite direction of his attacker. Unfortunately that meant back in the direction he'd come. Rolling over onto his hands, Iruka tried to get his feet under him. A foot landed square in the back of his chest, knocking the wind out of him and pushing him once again to the ground. Iruka sucked in a breath and tried to push himself back up. The weight of the man nearly standing on him kept him pinned.

Chuckling, the shinobi dug his heel into Iruka's spine, right where the scar from saving Naruto from Mizuki was.

The pain cut his breath off again, Iruka gasped then pulled another kunai. He stabbed it into his attacker's ankle near his hip. The weight on his back receded and Iruka used that moment to flip onto his back.

Thrown off balance, the enemy shinobi crashed down on top of him, his weight primarily on Iruka's legs.

Sucking in a breath, Iruka pulled his legs free and twisted around to face his attacker. It was strange to stare at Kakashi without the mask. Dating or not it wasn't something he saw often.

It struck him then, while his enemy was climbing to his feet, that his running had kept the man from dropping the henge which confirmed his suspicions about it being a seal. Iruka also knew the henge had to be tying up quite a bit of the nin's chakra, so it was impractical to maintain it during a fight. Quickly, Iruka started forming the signs for a seal of his own.

"Now you're going to fight me? I'm Taiki Kurosawa and took down the great copy-nin; do you really think you stand a chance? You're nothing but a desk jockey. A teacher." He spit the words out with a laugh, then closed the distance between them and wrapped both hands around Iruka's throat. "You should just give up and let me kill you."

The fingers tightened, digging into his throat and making it impossible for Iruka to get even the barest breath passed them. _'Rat. Just three more. Dog. Snake. Monkey.'_ His vision clouded. Iruka focused all of his chakra into his hands and thrust them forward into Kurosawa's chest. He felt his chakra spread out from there. Iruka smiled, lifted his foot then dragged it down Kurosawa shin and planted it hard into the top of his foot. Then he shoved Kurosawa as hard as he could and hoped it was enough because if it wasn't he was done.

It was. Kurosawa's grip on his throat broke and he stumbled backwards. "So not going to give up. I see. Well, that's fine. It'll make things more fun."

Gasping, Iruka turned and bolted again. He needed some distance and the seal needed time.

"Running again? Really?" Kurosawa called after him. "Come on now, let's not play cat and mouse."

Iruka spun around the corner and pushed as much chakra as he could into his hands. He formed the seal, released the chakra and poofed a short distance over to another row. It wasn't as good as teleporting out, but then again he couldn't do that. The records room was sealed against it for very obvious reasons. Inside he could bend the rules some and get himself about five meters. Unfortunately because of the seal it was hard to know where you'd end up.

There was a loud crash off to the right of where Iruka found himself.

"You little shit! What did you do to me?"

It was a little hard to keep from laughing. The seal he'd used was similar to the one actually on the building itself. Any chakra expended in the building above a certain range was drained away. It went to reinforce the protections on the building. As long as you stayed under the set range you were fine. Things like a henge weren't affected.

The one he'd put on Kurosawa however had a significantly lower range and wasn't directly fed into anything so any chakra expended drained away and did nothing. The seal wasn't always the most effective since if they simply refrained from using ninjutsu and genjutsu it didn't hurt them. However, since Kurosawa had still had the seal for the henge up it was bleeding away his chakra at a nice, steady pace. The best part was that because of the way it worked Kurosawa couldn't undo either seal. Iruka had only thought of it because he was looking at yet another version of it, though a more natural and unintended version. Kakashi's sharingan constantly drained chakra when it was uncovered and if overused would sap all of Kakashi's chakra. That was what Iruka was waiting for. He just had to outlast Kurosawa and he wasn't sure how long it would take. In the meantime he was aiming to get to the door.

Iruka looked at the drawers and took note of where he was and then began limping towards the door. Another crash, this time more in front of him, gave him pause and Iruka waited to see if Kurosawa would appear. When that didn't happen, Iruka continued on his way. He slid around the back of a supplies cabinet and shimmied his way into another aisle a little farther away from the crash.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Kurosawa screamed.

Iruka mentally cursed the thick walls of the records room. The entire building seemed inconveniently thick at the moment. _'If it weren't the middle of the night somebody would have heard and come running by now.'_ Most people stayed out of the basement of the hokage tower unless they had a purpose for being there. T&I had their headquarters down here, but they were on the other side of the building with sound dampeners.

A loud explosion erupted behind him, knocking over the shelves he'd just slipped past, and Iruka dove around the corner. Apparently the guy had explosive tags and was resorting to a destroy everything to get to him mentality. Thankfully, the cabinets were all nicely locked and built to withstand a great deal of damage, including explosive tags.

Iruka continued his slow progress towards the door, dodging the occasional shelf or filing cabinet. He was getting close and the closer he got the more things crashed down around him.  
There was another explosion and then nothing, only silence.

Iruka froze. The door was only about another fifteen meters away, just around the next row.

He had to know. Iruka closed his eyes and tried to sense where Kurosawa was by his chakra signature. He couldn't sense him though, couldn't tell where he was. That meant that his chakra levels were low, but it also meant Iruka didn't know what was between him and the door. Empty space or an enemy. _'You can take him. His chakra's low. He can't be that dangerous at this point even if he did take down Kakashi. Just think about being able to hold that above his head when you take down the nin who took him down. He'll sulk for a month.'_ The thought brought the slightest smile to his lips. Iruka held onto it, slid a kunai into his hand, and walked around the shelves.

Kurosawa stood there, panting and looking plenty pissed off. He was holding a kunai in each hand, but that was it for his armaments.

"Kakashi-san looks far more intimidating when he's angry. Even with his face you're not half as scary as him," Iruka snarked, shifting his weight to accommodate his heavily injured ankle and lowering himself into a proper fighting stance. He pulled several shuriken from his pouch with his free hand and readied them. "I've faced him more times than most and I'll have you know I'm not scared of him. I'm sure you know that already though." Some of it was bravado some of it was flat out a lie, but saying it out loud made it sound more true.

Kurosawa laughed.

The maniacal sound was so unlike Kakashi that Iruka truly didn't recognize the face for a moment.

Then he lunged.

Iruka threw the shuriken and dove under and to the side of him towards the door. One of the kunai hit him in the shoulder just to the left of his jacket. The second hit him on his uninjured leg, in the back of his thigh. Rolling, Iruka came back facing Kurosawa.

Kurosawa came at him again, another kunai already in his hands.

He threw up his arm in a block. The kunai slashed down his forearm and Iruka pushed against it. It dug in deeper, but the move slowed the motion down and Iruka jammed his own kunai down into Kurosawa's neck.

Blood gushed out of the wound. Kurosawa dropped the kunai and grabbed at his own neck in shock.

Iruka let go and instead grabbed Kurosawa's vest and shoved him backwards into the filing cabinet with. He watched Kurosawa's face pale, waited for him to start to sag, and the released him.

Kurosawa dropped to the floor, his head smacking against it.

Iruka pulled a package of gauze out, ripped it open and covered the wound on Kurosawa's neck. "I wouldn't want you to bleed out before Ibiki-san has a chance to show you true leaf hospitality." He undid the seal and stepped back.

The drain gone and his chakra near depleted Kurosawa's own seal faltered and his guise as Kakashi disappeared with it.

His face was familiar and Iruka realized immediately he was listed in the bingo books as a missing nin from Marsh Country. Iruka limped towards the door. "Ibiki-san, if you aren't still in your office I swear I'm coming back here and killing him."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ibiki and Inoichi were both in Ibiki's office when Iruka finally stumbled in, bleeding all over the floor. "Enemy. Records room." The dizziness hit him then, and now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he realized he must have hit his head harder than he'd thought. Iruka sucked in a breath and grabbed at the door frame. "He has Kakashi-san somewhere. I think Kimura-san's." The room spun again and Iruka closed his eyes.

A moment later he was swept up and being carried down the hall. He cracked his eyes opened, unsurprised to find that it was Ibiki carrying him.

"It's not Kimura-san?" Ibiki's question was flat, and he didn't even pause in his stride.

"Kurosawa. Kimura-san is dead." Iruka supplied the name, too tired to offer more.

"Taiki Kurosawa?" There was a definite note of surprise.

Iruka nodded and then regretted it. He curled himself tighter and clung to Ibiki's coat, feeling like a small child in his friend's massive arms. "We need to find Kakashi."

"Inoichi's already on his way," Ibiki assured him. "I'll get what we need from Kurosawa and relay it to him. Then I'm getting you to the hospital."

There was a good long moment of silence while they made their way down the halls to the records room. Iruka started to drift in and out of sleep until Ibiki set him down beside the door. "Tell me what you know and don't fall asleep again. You have a concussion, Umino."

Iruka explained that there were files and went over the details he'd pieced together then briefly explained the fight that had followed.

"Maybe I should have you go over my files," Ibiki chuckled. He disappeared inside, was gone for several minutes, and then he was back, scooping Iruka off the floor. "I have men on the way and Inoichi is going to need some help, but he's located Hatake and Hamasaki-san."

Iruka smiled, relieved.

~*~*~

"That wasn't me, it doesn't count." Kakashi's tone was an out right sulk.

Iruka laughed and shrugged. "He had your fighting style down really well, it might as well have been." Okay, so that was a lie, but Iruka was having fun teasing Kakashi.

Kakashi was silent for a moment. "Yeah well he doesn't have my intelligence," he stated finally.

Iruka snickered. "No, you're right. He was smarter." He smirked. "After all he did take you out. I definitely think that makes him smarter... I mean you knew something was up and yet you fell for it."

"I was injured!"

"Well only an idiot would take the infamous Copy-nin on head-on," Iruka countered, still smiling and quite proud of himself.

Kakashi on the other hand looked incredibly disgruntled. "I was running on no sleep and no chakra."

That remark only made him smile wider, his cheeks hurt from the breadth of it. "Well maybe that means you shouldn't run yourself so ragged, Genius. There's a lesson in this for you."  
Kakashi muttered something unintelligible and looked away.

"Several actually, you should stop running yourself so ragged, I don't need you to protect me, and I could kick your ass in a fight." Chuckling, Iruka leaned back in his hospital bed, yawned, and closed his eyes. He was still plenty tired from the fight. "You really should listen to me sometimes, Kakashi-san."

There was a long silence from Kakashi's side of the room.

Iruka looked over, curious if Kakashi had fallen asleep. He couldn't see Kakashi's face however so he still wasn't sure.

"Everyone needs protecting sometimes and it's our job to protect those precious to us." The words were quiet. The tone serious. "Thank you for saving me, Iruka. I never doubted that you would."

Iruka was taken aback for a moment, by the words and the implication. With Kakashi, sometimes it was like fumbling around in the dark to figure out what he was saying, so the rather obvious statement about his feelings was unexpected. The added level of trust he'd had in Iruka only made them that much stronger and it took him a moment to regain his own composure. "Like you said... it's my job."

FIN


End file.
